Book review by Sripriya Krishnaswamy <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I picked up this book after seeing Marcia Reynolds recommend it on LinkedIn. I was intrigued by the title and was curious about what lies beneath the surface of coaching conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As coaches, we work with words, questions, and presence. But every individual is much more than what they bring to the table, isn’t it? There is a lot of \u2018unspoken\u2019 behind, rather beneath how one thinks, feels, and acts\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is exactly the space that this book addresses.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sandhya Mathur explores how to deepen our coaching beyond the prescribed framework and techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crux of this book is that some of the most powerful shifts in coaching happen when we blend neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and spiritual wisdom. She explores how a coach can leverage the finer aspects such as emotions, intuition, embracing ambiguity and deepen their presence to enable transformations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book is dense, especially the sections around neuroscience. I found myself pausing because certain ideas needed time to settle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Ideas from the Book (Through a Coaching Lens)<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn’t a chapter-by-chapter summary kind of book. I\u2019ve managed to pick up a few threads that weave together throughout. Here are the ideas that have stayed with me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of what drives our clients’ behavior is invisible to them, including their thoughts, emotions, beliefs, nervous system responses running on autopilot. A beautiful analogy, a powerful one at that: “Like a path through the forest, the more we walk a thought, the clearer it becomes.”<\/em><\/strong> This book reminded me to listen for what is not said; the emotion beneath the words, the belief behind the resistance, the fear inside the ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She introduces the SEE design lens and talks about questions being expansive, heart-led, and visionary. I tried one shift in a recent session, asking “What would it look like if this felt easy?” instead of “What do you want to do next?” and watched the client’s entire energy change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book offers visual tools like the EQ Lotus, the Ambiguity Tolerance Framework, and models for working with intuition, silence, and resistance. What struck me is that Sandhya presents these as ways to sense<\/em> what’s happening beneath a client’s words, not just techniques to apply. One analogy stayed with me: coaches are gardeners of the unseen. We don’t fix, we nurture.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The book explains why some sessions create lasting change and others don’t. \u201cIt’s not always about the insight. It’s whether the nervous system feels safe enough to allow it.\u201d The use of pauses, silence makes the conversation more powerful because it allows a client’s system to settle before moving anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Words don’t just convey meaning; they create states. They can calm, open, or ground. I’ve become more intentional about the words I choose and the space I leave for silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The book also touches on the nine emotions in Indian philosophy, tools like the Intuition Integration Model and Silence as Space Model, and how to work with ambiguity rather than rush past it. But what makes it valuable isn’t the number of tools but it’s how they all connect into a way of being<\/em> as a coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not a quick read. It is also not a book I will read once and set aside. I expect to return to it as my practice deepens. It\u2019s not only the ideas presented, it’s how the book engages you in them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It feels less like moving through chapters, and more like being in dialogue with the practice itself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best aspect is that she has embedded Reflective Questions in sections that were of great help to anchor our thoughts as we read each section.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What stands out about this book is that it does not offer isolated techniques. The ideas connect. One pass with this book, I have noticed a shift in how I hold sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am mindful of the invisible forces I bring into the sessions. This is equally important as I proceed to co-create these conversations. My focus is on what is being felt, what silence and pauses reveal beyond words, and how to sit with ambiguities and uncertainties that emerge. Most importantly, I’m learning to lean into my intuition and curiosity to guide my conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am glad I picked this book or did it pick me, I wonder? I expect this book will stay with me for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This book is for practicing coaches at all levels, mentors, and leaders who want to go beyond techniques. It reminds us that coaching is about helping people become conscious enough to choose differently. What I appreciate most is that the book invites responsibility, patience, and deeper awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a book that doesn\u2019t ask you to do more. It invites you to notice more<\/strong>. In a space where coaching can sometimes become structured and outcome-driven, this is a gentle reminder: The most meaningful shifts often happen quietly\u2026 in spaces we almost overlook.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “The coach is the anchor, the coaching session is the shore; a place the client can return to; a place where they return to themselves.” ~ Sandhya<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It leaves me wondering: how might embracing the invisible transform not just coaching, but our wider relationships and ways of being?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Book review by Sripriya Krishnaswamy I picked up this book after seeing Marcia Reynolds recommend it on LinkedIn. I was intrigued by the title and was curious about what lies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":1050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1051,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1049\/revisions\/1051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icfchennai.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>About the Book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>My Experience Reading the Book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>How This Book Has Influenced My Coaching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Here\u2019s what I am carrying forward:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>Final Reflection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n